In many areas of medical treatment, the transportation of gases or liquids in various treatments is required. Such treatments, for example, include respiratory, surgical, arthroscopic, laparoscopic, urologic, and even subcutaneous applications (e.g., injections, or sub-dermal insufflation). Because of the complexity of medical treatments and the large number of different but occasionally related procedures, there is a high possibility of attaching or hooking up the wrong medical device accessory to a particular medical device for a particular medical treatment. In the case of tubing sets, for example, the conduits can be metal, rigid or flexible plastic, tubes, or even just a needle itself. The tubing sets may also have characteristics specific to a particular medical treatment, such as conduit diameter, length, pressure ratings, temperature ratings, fluid flow ratings, etc. There is often a need to match the proper conduit to the proper medical device (e.g., an insufflator, a pump, etc.) to insure the proper performance of the medical device, or to insure the medical device performs in certain ways.
Furthermore, within the medical field, hospitals, surgi-centers, and doctors' offices often re-use tubing sets for the transportation of gases or liquids which were intended for a single use. This practice has safety, health (e.g., infection), and equipment reliability and performance issues. Practitioners will often substitute tubing sets for manufacturer approved and tested tubing sets without an understanding of the resulting consequences. For example, in laparoscopic insufflation, instances have occurred where an insufflator has become contaminated due to the use of a sub-standard tubing set, or the re-use of a tubing set. In such instances, the potential consequences may also include the insufflator measurement system becoming compromised by a restrictive tubing set, or other degradation of the performance of the insufflator.
To address these and other issues, a system for identifying the presence and correctness of a medical device accessory is described herein.